


Ties

by i_owe_you_a_bourbon



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-05 01:12:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4159989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_owe_you_a_bourbon/pseuds/i_owe_you_a_bourbon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The tea was lovely, as was the company and the conversation, but Jarvis noticed that Peggy was growing increasingly restive as the minutes ticked by. Finally, Jarvis set down his biscuit and gave her a pointed look. “Miss Carter, is there somewhere you need to be?”</p>
<p>“Oh, I can’t take it anymore,” Peggy sighed. She reached out and snatched the present off the table, thrusting it towards Jarvis. “Open it,” she demanded.</p>
<p>Jarvis accepted the forcefully proffered gift. “Well, if you insist,” he said. He delicately loosened the wrapping paper, as neatly as he could, ignoring the impatient fidgeting of his hostess. At long last, he pulled back the decorative folds, revealing the contents of the small package. He gazed down at it a moment, then reached down and lifted it up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ties

“Hello, Mr. Jarvis,” Peggy chirped, a little skip in her step as she shut the door behind him. “Come in, my good sir.”

“You seem… frighteningly cheerful this morning, Miss Carter,” Jarvis replied, glancing around the entryway of Stark’s mansion with a feeling of sudden unease (mixed, perhaps, with no small amount of excitement). “Is something afoot?”

“I should say so, Mr. Jarvis. It is your birthday.”

Jarvis turned his attention to Peggy, who was beaming at him, obviously exceedingly pleased with herself. “Why yes, it is,” he exclaimed. “However did you know?” 

“Oh, a little birdy told me.”

“I see. And would that birdy happen to be named Howard Stark?”

“Indeed he would.” Peggy continued to look quite smug.

“Mr. Stark has a _very_ big mouth.”

“Honestly, Mr. Jarvis, such fuss,” Peggy tutted, moving forward to take his arm. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t just tell me in the first place.” She gave him a gentle tug to get him moving out of the entryway and further into the house. 

“I didn’t want you to make any kind of ado about nothing,” Jarvis admitted. “And now I fear you have.”

“I _promise_ I haven’t gone overboard,” Peggy informed him. “But it is hardly nothing, and I can’t just sit idly by on this most prestigious of occasions.”

“I certainly do appreciate the thought, Miss Carter,” Jarvis said, trying not to sound too pleased. From the way Peggy smiled, he could tell she had seen right through his – admittedly rather poor – attempt.

She towed him into the dining room, where a tasteful arrangement of biscuits was laid out on the coffee table, next to a pot of tea and a small, neatly wrapped present. “There,” said Peggy, releasing Jarvis’s arm and clasping her hands behind her back. “This is hardly too much, is it? I’m not your employer, Mr. Jarvis. I possess both good taste and subtlety.”

“Quite true,” Jarvis agreed. He smiled at the charming arrangement in front of him. “This is delightful.”

Peggy beamed again, then motioned towards one of the excessively comfortable arm chairs that were positioned next to the coffee table. “Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea?”

Jarvis shot her an offended look. “Miss Carter, I am English.”

“It is so _very_ refreshing to be around somebody with good sense,” said Peggy. She went to pour him a cup of tea.

The tea was lovely, as was the company and the conversation, but Jarvis noticed that Peggy was growing increasingly restive as the minutes ticked by. Finally, Jarvis set down his biscuit and gave her a pointed look. “Miss Carter, is there somewhere you need to be?”

“Oh, I can’t take it anymore,” Peggy sighed. She reached out and snatched the present off the table, thrusting it towards Jarvis. “Open it,” she demanded.

Jarvis accepted the forcefully proffered gift. “Well, if you insist,” he said. He delicately loosened the wrapping paper, as neatly as he could, ignoring the impatient fidgeting of his hostess. At long last, he pulled back the decorative folds, revealing the contents of the small package. He gazed down at it a moment, then reached down and lifted it up. “You bought me a tie.”

Her face fell. “Do you not like it? It seemed so very _you_.”

“No, no,” Jarvis said hurriedly. “Of course I like it.” He stared down at the tie for a moment longer. “It’s… perfect,” he said finally. His voice sounded strange, even to his own ears. He cleared his throat and looked up at her crestfallen expression. “I mean that, Miss Carter. It’s perfect.”

She smiled at him, though it was a rather confused smile. Jarvis returned the smile, allowing it to linger the tiniest bit longer than he should have. After a moment, Peggy let out a small, awkward cough. “More tea, Mr. Jarvis?” she asked. 

“That would be splendid.”

Peggy didn’t mention the tie again, but Jarvis could tell that it didn’t go unnoticed that he refused to put the gift down for the rest of his stay. It was still clutched firmly in his hand when he took his leave.

~ 

That night, before Jarvis went to bed, he carefully tucked the tie into his tie drawer. He placed it beside one of the ties he already owned, a tie he had purchased once upon a time from a hotel tailor’s shop in Budapest. He spent a moment gazing down at the two ties, lying together. They weren’t identical – that would have been preposterous – but they were so very similar in colour and pattern and style that it was rather unsettling to see them side-by-side.

Jarvis ran a hand over the two ties, smiling down at them fondly. The smile was still on his face when he retired to bed, next to the woman from the hotel tailor’s shop.


End file.
